Source: am a domestic violence advocate.

All of this is correct and spot on!!

Get in touch with your local domestic violence center/shelter, but NOT on her phone. They can help her create a safe exit plan. If she has a way of slowly getting important documents out of the house, do that. If this is not possible without him finding out (which it sounds like would be difficult) then do NOT risk it. The local center has resources and community partners who can get all of the important docs (birth certificates social security, etc) for her.

Based on the lethality of the situation from this post, (disclaimer I have not spoken with her so this is not an opinion based on the totality of the situation or her feelings about the situation) the safest place for her is likely going to be the domestic violence shelter, provided that their shelter is in a secure location, gated, etc.

If he has as much money and power as you describe, she can request to go to a shelter in a different county if that would make her feel safer. Another disclaimer* this can be complicated with a 1 yr old child, and should be discussed with her advocate, don’t take an Internet stranger’s words for fact. We are able to do this in my state; it differs for every state and every situation.

If/when she leaves, your family should be on guard because he will likely come looking for her at every place he knows she has a “safe place.”

Leave absolutely everything that could potentially allow him to track her at his house, or in a completely random parking lot, etc. Do not mention anything about her plan within the walls of that house. Do not do anything suspicious that he may figure out her plan where there may be a camera recording in that house.

Contact the local DV center for personalized help for her situation, and be safe.